Among the Gods
by Tigressa101
Summary: Monsters hide among the gods, but Optimus and the Cybertronians realize the new monsters might not be the biggest threat the Universe has to offer. [This story was my first ever written and I didn't write it very good. Oh and the Metal Heads don't belong to me except for some. The original Metal Heads belong to NaughtyDog (Jak & Daxter)]
1. Prologue

Prologue

* * *

"Long ago, a terrible war consumed the five major galaxies including the Milky Way; it ravished the main planetary systems like a plague and wiped countless species from existence. Only a few lived o, but our planet seemed to be one of its primary targets. However, as you know, we were facing our own war.

The Fallen, a lost prime, made our wars collide. Behind our backs, he cut a deal with the Dark One and her abominations that had a tendency to destroy anything in their path. Little did he know that when he struck the truce, his life would forever change, and his downfall would be inevitable.

Most tried to warn him of the powers he had entangled himself in, but he did not listen. The Dark One he made the deal with, honored her side of the bargain and attacked the major cities as well as the Energon storages. The Fallen blamed us Autobots for the destruction and gained supporters by each passing day.

His end of the deal was that he would give the Dark One Energon and well needed supplies, but his reign revealed his dark nature and he refused. The Dark One started to lose her patience as the weeks rolled by without payment; she finally commanded her army to hunt and kill the Fallen.

Outraged by her "betrayal", the Fallen decreed that whoever brought the Dark One's head to him would get riches beyond one's comprehension. The Dark One, however, grew repulsed by his treachery. She ambushed every Cybertronian that stood in her way, and finally cursed the Fallen so that he would die in agonizing pain by an unknown force.

When she left, the Fallen dissed her threat and continued his rule over Cybertron. Later on, he figured out what she had meant and suffered greatly, for he realized she left a majority of her army beneath Cybertron's surface and they tortured him endlessly via telepathy until he no longer could take it. He disappeared off the face of the planet soon after and no one saw him again.

Legends about him as well as the Dark One are now found in Cybertron's ancient texts, but no one has ever been able to prove they actually happened the way the authors had described.

Despite the lack of evidence, some still believe the Fallen is alive but trapped under the Dark One's will," Optimus finished.

Bumblebee gave him a confused look while Raf, who sat on his lap, began drowning the Autobot leader in questions.

June, Fowler, and Dexter weren't listening to the story, but they acknowledged parts of the "legend". They continued to bicker about personal things as Raf gave his mile-long list of questions.

The rest of the Autobots followed Raf's lead and asked a million questions about different parts of the story.

Optimus gave a motion that he wanted to plug his audio receptors, but he remembered that in order to do that, he would have to shut down his entire form. He scowled at the group and finally replied, "I understand you have a ton of questions but please, one at a time. My hearing is going to burst and all of you are going to pay for it!"

Raf raised his hand warily, "Were you there when the Fallen overran the Autobots and made the agreement?"

"No, I'm afraid I was not. If I recall correctly, I was created right after his fall from power. Ratchet, however, may have been there. Perhaps if you were to ask him…" Optimus was cut short as Ratchet typed in the background on the monitor and said, "No! I'm busy right now!"

Suddenly, an alarm screeched with Megatron's comm. link appearing on one of the screens.

"Optimus, I need your help! Strange creatures are attacking my warship, and my men are dropping left and right. For some reason they are heading straight for the Energon stockpile near the engine room as well as the floor where I keep some of the relics I gained from our previous encounters. Please hurry!"

The message ceased and Optimus stood up with only one thing to say, "Autobots, although the Decepticons are our worst enemies, we must go to their aid and figure out why these 'creatures' are attacking their vessel. Transform and roll out!"

Arcee, Bumblebee, Smokescreen, and the Wreckers (Bulkhead, Wheeljack, and Ultra Magnus) prepared themselves while Ratchet traced the coordinates of the ship's location. The ground bridge activated and the Autobots transformed into their alt. modes.

The humans waved good-bye as Optimus lead his team through the swirling vortex.


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Monsters

* * *

The night sky seemed unforgiving as Metal Scouts and Terror-dactyls chased multiple flying troops under the light of the blue moon. Some even toppled down towards the ground as they were shot out of the sky.

Below in the marshlands, a group of Vehicons fired at a Metal-pede as it rose from the moist ground and u-turned straight into another section of the murky floor. Its rotating spikes tunneled through the dirt like a drill. Two of the Vehicons jumped down into the deep hole after it.

From the command deck, Soundwave set the ship on high alert and activated any weapons or traps stored within the vessel's hallways. Each screen had several camera angles in which he monitored in case any of the monsters found certain rooms that the Decepticons kept valuable items in.

Before he could view the camera on the entrance to his control room, the door that separated him from the outside blew chunks of metal towards him. He swiftly dodged them, but he found several monsters staring at him with four yellow eyes.

The beasts stalked towards him on all fours as Soundwave stood his ground. One leapt in front of him, but found itself thrown to the other side of the room by a tentacle. The others charged only to be blocked by the stealth drone with his lightning-fast reflexes. Another eventually caught the tentacle that had thrown its brother; its jaws locked around the appendage as it began to tug.

Soundwave struggled to prevent himself from sliding as the Metal Head became more vicious with every pull. The others finally recovered from the stealth drone's attacks; they began to circle him, but Soundwave still had one more tentacle which kept an eye on half of the pacing monsters.

Before the beasts could strike, a red and blue truck rammed the Metal Head that held Soundwave's appendage captive. The truck slid and hit four more before stopping.

Optimus Prime transformed with a scowl upon his face. He raised the Star Saber threateningly while Soundwave covered his back as more abominations flooded the center.

* * *

Arcee kicked a few Metal Heads as they were about to claw at her. But as she fought off four more, she suddenly felt something launch her next to Megatron, who was fighting off Metal-saurs and a few angry Metal-pedes. She glanced towards her former position only to see a large Ram-Head scraping its clawed foot against the ground.

It roared and aimed for the small femme only to be lifted from the ground by the Decepticon leader himself.

"Hey, I had the situation under control. I didn't need your assistance, big guy," Arcee hissed as Megatron threw the Metal-rhino a safe distance away.

He peered back to the blue femme with a toothy grin, "Sure, my dear. Besides if I didn't interfere, then I would have had to explain to Optimus how you became a pool of Energon and, what's the human term for it, ah yes, 'road kill'."

Arcee rolled her eyes and returned to her fighting stance.

Megatron offered her a lift, but she refused and ran back into the battle. The warlord sighed and followed her while mumbling, "I swear you're going to turn out to be the death of me despite all the battles and enemies I have faced!"

* * *

The Wreckers tried to distract the Arach-Heads (spider Metal Heads) as they attempted to close in on Breakdown and Knockout.

Wheeljack jumped onto Ultra Magnus' shoulders for a better view and figured out a plan by the performance he was witnessing. He launched himself onto the back of one and hooked one of his grenades under the plating located between the monsters gem skull and its spine.

The abomination began to panic causing the others to try and calm their friend down. As soon as one realized what the white bot had placed, the bomb exploded and sent both Bots and Cons closest to it hurdling outwards.

Bulkhead high-fived his partner and continued the assault on the remaining Metal Heads.

Breakdown saw his former enemy charge at the four spiders left. He turned to his own partner, "Well, do we fight or run?"

Knockout looked at his finish. One way or another, it was going to get scratched. He growled as his companion stared at him, "Okay, fine! We'll help the Autobots! But you will owe me big time if my finish is ruined!"

Breakdown ignored a majority of his response and instantly went to the Wreckers' aid right as Knockout gave him the "okay".

He revealed his hammer while Knockout transformed his hand into his signature saw. Both mechs began pounding Metal Heads left and right until both reached Bulkhead's side.

Bulkhead smiled and nodded to his former foe in acknowledgement. Breakdown did the same. As both teams ganged up on the Metal Heads, both of them gave battle cries and clashed with a lone Metal-saur.

* * *

Bumblebee slid under a Grunt Elephant and dodged the second one's electric streams that pulsed out of its sides. As a few large Metal Grunts attacked him, he was able to grasp onto a few tails and fling them into the oncoming blasts of a group of Spyder-Gunners.

Smokescreen, Dreadwing, and Starscream found themselves cornered as multiple types of Metal Heads began to stalk towards them, hungrily.

Starscream's missiles did little damage, but they did blow the creatures back further. He knew flying out of their predicament would attract the Terror-dactyls which were deadly when air-borne and damn near impossible to shake off.

Suddenly, Bumblebee jumped in front of the trapped group and placed the Apex Armor on his small form. His yellow plating was soon covered in a light grey and blue, thick armor which forced the Metal Heads to step back in fear.

Dreadwing and Smokescreen had large grins plastered on their face while Starscream felt the memory of how he lost the Armor to the newest Autobot recruit swarm his processor and caused him to scowl deeply to himself.

Bumblebee beeped a few words before charging at the large amount of Metal Heads that surrounded his team.

One by one, the Metal Heads were either thrown high above the ground or sent spiraling into multiple trees. The ones that were forced into the air, skydived back into the marshland, completely knocked out by the impact.

"Whoa, go 'Bee! Now I wish I could play in the indestructible suit," Smokescreen pondered as he watched Bumblebee pound the last of the Metal Head scouts into the water.

Dreadwing raised a brow at Smokey's remark and merely chuckled, "Oh don't worry, I'm sure you'll be able to use it in due time. Of course, that's if you can get the scout out of the suit first."

* * *

Optimus walked up to the front tip of Megatron's vessel and observed the defeat of the unusual creatures. But he then noticed the monsters had paused as if they were listening to something.

Before he had any time to figure out what they were searching for, a large snake-like appendage coiled around his frame and began to squeeze his arms against his body. He turned his head in pain as he saw who it was attached to.

All the Metal Heads bowed in unison while the Bots and Cons stared in horror at their visitor.

"W…who are you?" Optimus grunted in agony as he peered straight into his captor's yellow-red eyes.

A voice that sounded like a mixture of a male's and a female's answered, "That is for me to know and you to find out, my dear Prime. Of course, considering how well you know your planet's history, I assume you can figure out the answer quite easily."

He watched as his new enemy's ears twitched slightly and its tongue slipped in between its blade-shaped teeth like a serpent's as if it was trying to sniff the air for any emotions.

"Why are you attacking the Decepticons? Why are you…ahhhh!" Optimus hissed as the tail began to crush him even more.

"For a wise Autobot, you sure like to ask questions," the unknown oppressor growled.

Optimus looked back down at the bowing Metal Heads. At that moment, something hit him mentally. His eyes grew wide as he ushered a simple sentence, "You're the Dark One!"

A grin formed on the oppressor's faceplates. "And those...things…are the abominations that you created and used to undermine the Fallen when he betrayed you!"

The Dark One laughed, "I knew you could figure it out. As for that legend of the Fallen and I, it's mostly true but there are a few parts they didn't get right."

Suddenly, the coils untangled themselves around the Autobot Leader's chassis and Optimus caught himself before he could fall over the edge.

"Well, this has been a great first meeting, and I would love to see you again. But luckily for you, I have a few matters I have to tend to as well as my Metal Heads," the Dark One said.

Optimus immediately noticed her frame was feminine, 'So the Dark One was truly a female.'

The over-powering female turned back to the coughing mech, "Oh, and for your sake, don't try to find us when our attacks become frequent on both this ship and the humans. Instead, we'll find you."

The femme's back armor moved and revealed two spiked wings. She transformed into what appeared to be a tiger-dragon mixture and took to the skies. She flew in front of the moon and suddenly vanished.

The Metal Heads followed suit and ran into the dense tree-covered swamp. Some hissed at the Cybertronians as they retreated.

Cons and Bots soon began to socialize with conversations ranging from what the creatures actually were and how good someone battled.

Megatron observed Optimus from a distance as the truck bot peered up at the light grey and blue satellite. Something was wrong and he knew it.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: The Mercenary/The Second Attack

* * *

Dexter stared blandly at the faceless Decepticon, who typed furiously trying to gather information on the Metal-monsters and the Dark oppressor that attacked Optimus. In truth, Dexter seemed creeped out by the silent mech, but he respected him nonetheless.

Across the room, Optimus stood watching the screens scroll down with pictures of unusual creatures that matched the description of the Metal Heads. He remained there until the door behind him opened and revealed Megatron with Arcee sitting on his shoulder.

"Hey Optimus, you missed it. Megatron just kicked Smokescreen's ass after he challenged Bigfoot here! The fool was down for the count with two strikes!" Arcee boasted.

Megatron just had a huge grin plastered on his faceplates while Arcee kept explaining the one on one fight.

"Wait, why are you using Megatron as a horse?" Dexter asked, stepping away from Soundwave with caution.

Arcee's smile flattened. "Um…I'm not using him as a "horse"; I'm just trying to get to know him. But if you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly his height!"

"Yeah, but still! It seems odd almost as if you two are now a couple," Dexter pointed out only to receive a death glare from the small Autobot and a concerned look from the warmonger.

Before she could retaliate with a snappy comeback, the screen Optimus was observing turned red and the alarm sprang to life. The sonar began to pick up two huge energy clusters heading straight for them, ones that didn't match the signals of Energon but rather a similar substance.

"Autobots, Decepticons, prepare for battle! I fear that our new enemies have returned and will attempt to bring down this vessel again," Optimus called over the ship's comm. links.

Arcee and Megatron stared at each other for a second before the femme finally hopped down from the warlord's broad shoulder and ran to group up with her fellow comrades.

As the clustered energy signals zeroed in on the Nemesis, Optimus narrowed his optics at the sun fading into the horizon. His eyes adjusted to the oncoming dark only to spot multiple faint specks with lines that appeared to be moving up and down rapidly.

* * *

Starscream held onto the side of one of the ship's appendages, scouting for any visible movement along with a few white seeker drones. Predaking landed next to him with Shockwave riding on his back.

"I hear them! Do you?" The Cyclops asked while trying to keep the Predacon steady.

Starscream ignored him only to see a blurry figure hit him from the corner of his optic. His claws latched onto the worn metal as he scowled toward the hovering new Metal Head which resembled a spider.

More spider-like Metal Heads swarmed the Predacon and Shockwave until a few began to fall to their death as blue Energon blasts began to bombard them.

Starscream had a massive grin on his face as Ultra Magnus skidded to a halt in front of the down seeker and continued to fire endlessly.

The Flying Spider-Heads grew attracted to the Energon scent jolting from the Elite officer's gun and circled him. They nipped at his back, legs, and even his arms which began to weaken the older mech.

Optimus quickly emerged from the interior deck with the Star Saber at hand before he jumped to his friend's aid. As soon as he felt he was a good distance away, the Saber lit up, and he swiped a massive bolt of energy towards the cloud of Metal Heads.

The Metal Heads squealed as the blast ripped through their squadron like a blade through fruit. As the ruptured energy's after-debris vanished into the air, a majority of the creatures were no more, and some followed their former brothers down to the Earth below.

The remaining Spider-Heads frantically began clicking their pinchers together as if they were talking amongst themselves.

All the Autobots and Decepticons shuffled slightly, uneasy with what the Metal Heads were doing.

Suddenly, the Nemesis jerked to its right and rumbled as something hit its port side.

"Optimus, I don't like what these things are doing. They appear to be summoning something or someone," Shockwave cautiously said, peering down on the port side of the ship. He stared blandly at the large dent that now was engraved in the ship's armor.

A state of panic hit Starscream as he realized the abomination that caused the vessel to jolt off course was nowhere in sight.

"I do not wish to know what this "someone" is capable of doing, nor do I wish to see it enter and destroy our remaining members upon this vessel," the Autobot Leader spoke, lifting the Star Saber up for battle once more.

The Nemesis quaked again, but the area of damage seemed to emanate from the rear where the rockets sat, pushing the ship slowly to the West towards the constellation, Orion.

A large, red-clawed hand breached the deck's surface and lifted its body to the mixed red and blue eyes that peered in shock at it. The figure's wings grasped the tail fins as its red optics, body, and arms revealed themselves. As it finally brought its feet to rest upon the dark purple metal, it roared angrily while the group of surviving Metal Heads crawled behind their master's massive legs.

Predaking grew unsettled by the presence of another dragon and transformed into his bot form only to screech back as a challenge. He posed himself in a running stance in case his oppressor decided to engage in battle.

The black and red dragon glanced hungrily at the Predacon, revealing his rows of thick teeth while his tongue licked the air. It lifted its right pede, scrapped the floor, and stomped back down as if to give a warning that it was ready for anything.

Predaking yelled a battle cry and charged only to see his opponent follow suit with heavy footsteps.

As both dragons ran towards one another, any gravel or dust that rested upon the ship's balcony was now being launched behind them until they collided with each other, both struggling to keep balance.

After a few punches were thrown, Predaking found himself bleeding just below his chest. He hissed in pain as the monster pushed him to the ground with its claws digging into the protoform of the damaged Predacon.

Before the beast could strike, something zipped past him and felt a slight pinch on his back. He peered back to see his wing barely attached to his main armor. It started gushing purple blood and he soon experienced the full misery of the almost-missing limb.

The monster screamed as its appendage finally broke from its base and crashed onto the hard metal below it. He turned his head frantically to find the person who did it. His blood-red eyes rested on a small form, one covered in a type of black armor, who held a blade he recognized.

All the Cybertronians stood motionless as the mysterious figure sprinted towards the beast and jumped onto its leg while it tried to pulverize its enemy. The figure climbed the dragon's body, dodging every blow that the monster threw which only hit it.

Another sound emerged and sank from the metal dragon as its left arm came to rest on the ground, and the figure merely hopped down while the beast moaned in agony.

The Metal Heads swiftly panicked as the figure walked to them. They knew who it was and they knew better than to tangle with "her".

They fled immediately as she posed herself, ready to defend the ship and its inhabitants.

The dragon screeched madly and grabbed its arm, sending a cruel glare towards his previous opponents. He jumped from the ship's dock, skydiving into the clouds and disappearing from view.

Dexter slid to a stop as the figure stood in his way, holding out her hand to signal the word "stop".

"Who are you and what is your business here?" Dexter shouted, bringing out his gun for caution.

The figure began to remove her helmet, only to reveal that she was a woman which shocked the soldier. "Well if that's how you treat your guests then I must not be welcomed here," she smirked.

Dexter just stared into her blue eyes, waiting for something to happen.

The woman continued to grin and finally answered, "My name's Artemis and the reason I'm here is because I was tracking Demon and the Metal Heads. Apparently whatever you have on this vessel, they are attracted to it, and it must be important if Tigressa is sending her own twin to obtain it."

Optimus' audio receptors caught her last sentence and became curious on the subject. "Artemis, you know who they are?"

Artemis nodded, "Yep, that big fella that tackled Dragon Boy over there was Demon, the second-in-command to the most ruthless and demented bot to ever set foot in this galaxy, Tigressa. Word is you had a run-in with her when the Metal-monsters first attacked this ship; she's mostly known as the Dark One. Scary, isn't she?"

"What is she searching for? Why are they on Earth?" Optimus questioned as Artemis checked her blade for any remaining blood.

She raised a brow at the concerns, "Well, you remember the old legend of how Megatronus disappeared, right?"

"Yes, I told my team about when Raf asked about him," the Autobot Leader said, leaning slightly on the Star Saber as his fellow Cybertronians came within hearing range.

"Tigressa did almost everything that story told, but she didn't need the Energon. In fact, she actually did those things because she wanted to destroy Cybertron from the inside out, so to speak," Artemis replied, still playing with her thick sword.

"Optimus, you said Tigressa made a deal with the Fallen, right? So she must have tricked the Fallen into giving her access to Cybertron's future younglings as well as access codes to our planet's Energon chambers so she could kill off any hope of a future of Cybertron and cause us to turn on each other for the limited resources we had. She wanted us weak and battle-hungry; she wanted us to kill each other off so she could end the lineage of Primus, the inhabitants of Cybertron," Ultra Magnus growled angrily.

Artemis' smile faded as she nodded in agreement with the commander, "You see, Tigressa hated Cybertron because she deemed the planet as 'worthless' as well as Earth. She wants to create a universe that appeals to her liking and Cybertronians and humans apparently don't match her vision. And her Metal Heads were of her own design, monsters and traitors to the core. One was actually a different species once, but changed his allegiance to Tigressa and became a Metal Head by Dark Eco."

"Everyone on this ship is part of the last known Autobots and Decepticons to be alive; we must ensure that this fact cannot be depleted in any shape or form. No one is going to die by my watch," Optimus spoke with a serious tone, "and this 'Tigressa' will not prevent us from surviving, from living. We will defend both our home and Earth by whatever means necessary!"

Both Decepticons and Autobots cheered as well as the humans, who a majority had monitored the unwanted encounter from the main control panel below.

"If we are dealing with gods, then the battle will be taken to them. We will fight among the gods, and we will send them a message that we are here for a reason; we are here to protect any alien from their greed and disharmony or we'll have no choice but to destroy them," Optimus protested.

He returned his gaze back up to the heavens as he did the night before. His optics squinted with anger, hoping that Tigressa could hear him from wherever she resided at that moment. He would fight, even if it truly was among the gods.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: The Hunted Meet the Hunter/The Metal Head Leader

* * *

Miko sighed heavily as Bulkhead left for another mission assigned to him by Optimus. Two months had passed since Artemis' arrival and Tigressa's two attempts to penetrate the ship and its inhabitants had occurred.

She now rarely saw the large Wrecker since the Metal Heads' attacks had grown more frequent. All she could do was play videogames and draw, which only expanded her boredom.

As Bulkhead and his team disappeared into the ground bridge, Raf and Jack noticed Miko staring at the ground bridge's control panel which Ratchet had left to go out for a drive. Miko's grin grew enormous and Jack had a good idea what she was planning to do.

Before Jack could get to her in time, Miko swung herself over the railing and punched in the previous coordinates used.

"Miko! Don't you dare go into the ground bridge!" Jack yelled as both he and Raf chased after the exited rocker.

Miko darted into the swirling vortex with the boys hot on her trail. She and her chasers disappeared inside, only to miss the sound of the monitor picking up a large form in the location where the coordinates were set.

* * *

The vortex opened to a remote jungle with no bot in sight. Miko growled inwardly as the boys came through.

"You know, I don't need your permission to live my life the way I want it!"

Jack gave her a dull look, "You have a serious lack of judgment on the situation we're in. And besides, you can't just go wherever you want when you want!"

Miko merely huffed in response.

Raf didn't know what to do; he was torn between joining and staying out of the conversation. His thoughts were interrupted as Jack began to speak again.

"I am not trying to control you, Miko! I just don't want Bulkhead to come back one day and find out that not only had you followed him, but you died in the process by one of the enemies! We're in the middle of something we can't comprehend, something that if we make one faulty move, our lives will cease to be!" Jack shouted

"And by the way, I don't know if you have noticed or not, but Bulkhead was sent here to push enemy forces away, which means that we are practically standing in Metal Head hunting grounds. If we come across one, we're dead and I highly doubt the bots could get to us in time considering the fact that we're in the middle of an endless JUNGLE!"

Jack finally concluded his speech with his last word echoing above the canopy. Raf only nodded in agreement while Miko shook her head slowly.

A hiss caused them to pause and peer behind them. Two red and yellow optics opened simultaneously to their movement and the opening of jaws hit their ears like a jet.

All three humans rushed through bushes and plants immediately after and a roar followed behind. They could hear the crunching of trees but surprisingly couldn't see the monster behind them when they glanced back.

"There!" Jack pointed towards a shallow cave which was only accessible on hands and knees.

Miko and Raf sprinted for the dark hole and crawled in. Jack slid to a stop and joined them, only to freeze afterwards and wait for their predator to pass.

The footsteps drew closer and closer until a dinosaur-like foot settled next to the mouth of the small cave. The other rested on a group of rocks nearby which started to crack under the enormous weight of the hunter.

The monster's tail swung madly as if it was frustrated. It sniffed the air and Jack could tell it had found their scent of sweat mixed with fear.

As it drew near, Raf recognized the color scheme of the robotic dragon which made his eyes widen even more: it was Tigressa.

The clawed foot that had once resided on the rocks moved until she positioned it to appear like she was kneeling. Her hands helped her bend closer to the ground until her head covered any light that had entered the cavern.

Luckily for the teenagers, only her bottom jaw was able to get close enough without bumping the rocks that surrounded them. Her tongue, however, was small enough. It crept forward like a snake, almost touching Miko's face before it stopped.

As soon as the appendage was in the cave, it left suddenly and hid behind daggers. Jack saw the lower half of the head tilt the opposite direction of them as if she was listening to something that was near.

Her jaws snapped together as she pulled herself back up. Something was coming and she was well aware of its presence.

The three humans just laid there, staring at the same direction as Tigressa hoping it was the Autobots or even the Decepticons. They were wrong.

Out of the darkness came an unusual looking Metal Head, accompanied by another unique one. The giant Metal-monster had the lower half of a scorpion and the buff upper half of what appeared to be a Grunt with four white appendages on each side of its face. To them, it had to have been a king or a leader.

The one trailing the larger one were as big as Bumblebee. It had silver spikes with faded dark purple spots under each and had a dark and light blue coloring guarded by silver metal plating and a mask.

"My old friend," the leader hissed, "I would like to inform you that the Eco User is falling into our trap even as we speak. He has just met Torn and Krew and now he's developing problems among their ranks."

Tigressa laughed which made the large Metal Head jump slightly, "Oh, that little brat has no idea what's in store for him! Kor, make sure the boy is lead to disrupt your deal with that infidel, Praxis, because if the Baron cannot supply you with Eco, then the deal is off and you'll be able to rule the city, or at least take it as your new nest."

"But what about the boy and the Precursor Stone?" Kor questioned.

"That's simple. The boy will retrieve the Stone for you and when you sabotage the shield walls, you'll get your claws on it even if you have to kill Praxis and the boy in order to get it. As for his younger self, he is pure enough to open the entity inside," Tigressa said sinisterly as a smile formed on her faceplates, "and afterwards, you can kill him as well as the Precursors' last living soul."

Kor hesitated to respond, "I…In all honesty, Master, I don't really see the point of waiting for the boy to come to in my nest and have him battle me for it. Wouldn't it just be easier to have one of your siblings break into the tomb and steal it?"

Tigressa's grin straightened into a semi-neutral frown, "I know what will come of the longer wait, and I promise you, it will be worth your while. Just stay on track and lead the boy towards the path of undermining the Baron, plus it wouldn't hurt to trick that nerd at the Power Station to let his guard down, would it?"

Kor whimpered slightly, "No, Master. I suppose patience is more productive in a way. And due to my second-in-command's lack of judgment, I'm afraid he is no longer with us."

"Heh, a tragic loss but I'm sure the mighty Metal Head Leader can manage quite well," Tigressa huffed, as her expression suddenly turned serious.

"Kor, I need you to replenish our ranks. It seems my warriors haven't versed Cybertronians in such a long time; they have lost the ability to fight them properly. I need new warriors and my Dark Eco isn't in the mood to create more at the moment so I'm giving you this task."

Kor bowed to his master, "As you wish, my liege."

Tigressa then turned to the rhino-like Metal Head who only nodded at her presence, "Captain Silos, I need you to go to Cybertron and awake my siblings from their stasis. I require a new army of sorts to destroy the Cybertronians once and for all!"

Jack, Miko, and Raf didn't know what to do. They were stuck in the tiny cave with two Metal Heads and a sick-minded tiger-dragon. Miko had her phone out and recorded a majority of the conversation which she knew Bulkhead would be proud of.

They watched as the Metal Head Leader opened a portal into what they assumed was the other dimension, and the rhino Metal Head followed its master towards the direction in which it had come.

Jack looked at Miko intensely as she put her phone away. His facial expression was nothing short of anger.

"Miko, that's why we don't go where the bots go! We stay in the base and we stay away from danger which can take a shape such as a colossal dragon and her demented goons!" Jack whispered though it sounded a lot louder.

Suddenly, gunfire rang through the woods and several Decepticon drones ran past their hiding spot. More Metal Heads chased after them, but the rhino-like Captain appeared out of nowhere and caught a few of the drones by surprise.

Bulkhead became visible from the teenagers' position and attempted to go toe-to-toe with the large rhino. Before the Wrecker could recover from a head blow, the Captain unleashed a giant sword and tried to swing towards his chest plates.

Bulkhead rolled out of the way as the blade rammed down upon the area of where his chest would have been. He blocked every swipe with his forearms but found his challenger hard to shake off.

"You're a tough guy, aren't you? I suppose you'll be a great meal for my Metal Heads when I dislocate your head from your body!" The dark voice of the Captain caused the Wrecker to back away.

Silos let out a roar of disapproval and tackled the green mech until a tiny feminine voice yelled at him.

"Hey, leave Bulkhead alone, you overgrown hippopotamus!" Miko cried out which only caused Silos' eyes to lock onto her as well as her friends in the background.

As Bulkhead struggled to get the Metal Captain off of him, Silos merely stared at the girl until he lifted the Wrecker and threw him across the area. He returned his sights on the girl and slowly walked towards her.

Each step ruptured the ground and Jack forced himself to pull the defiant girl back under the rock.

Silos began crawling on all fours but stopped immediately as he saw in the corner of his eye the green mech who swiftly pummeled the Metal Head.

The Wrecker growled at the Captain who called back with the same response. Before the Metal Head or Bulkhead could do anything, Silos' ears perked up and he began to run the opposite way.

"Hey, chicken, where you going? I'm far from done with you! Fight like a real mech!" Bulkhead shouted.

He regretted his words as soon as he turned around and saw Tigressa sprinting towards him. He yelped and tried to hide behind a few boulders, only to watch the tiger-dragon run past him with Optimus and his team plus multiple Decepticons trailing her and firing endlessly.

As soon as they all passed, he sighed but shot a stern look at the three humans who still rested in the narrow cavern.

* * *

"You three have disappointed me," Optimus announced, "But you did bring back some interesting information and for that, we thank you."

Miko bowed to the leader smugly while Jack shook his head, disbelieving the gratitude she was receiving.

Artemis strolled up to them with a smirk implanted on her face, "So, how was the old evil witch? Hope she didn't bite."

"Oh yeah," Jack replied sarcastically, "she's great plus it wasn't her teeth we had to fear."

"So, Kor's still operating and Kaeden finally met his end. 'Bout time too. The asshole deserved it," Artemis said, tinkering with a few data pads in the process.

"Uh, dude, what about blue, grey, and ugly? What's his backstory?" Miko asked curiously.

"Heh, Ceros Silos was once a normal rhino or rather a normal alien species that looked just like a rhino but bigger. He sealed his fate when he changed his allegiance. I believe I've already mentioned him before," Artemis replied, "let's just say he served Tigressa's father before he swore loyalty to the tiger-dragon. Some say he fell in love with her, others say he did it because he wanted to kill which he found pleasurable."

Jack watched as Artemis typed in a few things and handed the pad to him. His eyes grew wide as he read the Captain's profile. He was a monster just like Tigressa and he was out for blood.

"Wait, Tigressa said she wanted him to go to Cybertron to wake up her siblings. Have you ever seen them?"

Artemis revealed a confused look, "Uh, no, but for some reason I might know what they look like because ever since I could remember, I've always had visions of what I assume was the Past and I always saw a bunch of Transformers crowded around Tigressa, but they always looked at me like I was really there.

And the strange part was, Tigressa was actually nice. She greeted me like I was her daughter and she always was creating something. I remember seeing floating mountains being set into place as well as the elements like water and fire. To be honest, I think I was remembering the day the Earth was being created by her and I was the first human.

My memory is still faulty, but it makes sense why Tigressa hates me more than any other human on this planet. I did nothing to her, but she had a reason to hate me."

Ratchet became interested in the dreams as soon as she mentioned the first possible human.

"And in this dream, did anything else happen?" Ratchet urged.

"Yes, every time I get accustomed to her friendly presence, it suddenly changes and I'm running with a man away from her in a place I don't even recognize. I remember as I ran, the walls dripped with Dark Eco and blood. I look back and the man is suddenly caught by Tigressa, but I don't stop until I run to the light. Afterwards, everything turns white and I can hear screaming and words that I haven't deciphered yet. Every time, this memory becomes a nightmare."

Ratchet cupped his chin with his hand, "It sounds like someone or something is trying to tell you something. Something that might have to do with how Tigressa turned evil and how the humans and creatures of this planet came to be. Perhaps the human you always seem to pose as in the dream did something to make Tigressa who she is now."

"Perhaps," Artemis said. She removed her blade from the holster on her back and stared at it. 'Perhaps.'


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Found/The Dawn of a New Friendship

* * *

Captain Silos felt the metal beneath his sturdy paws shift. Years of war had ravished the planet to the point where loose metal surfaces were unpredictable and there was a higher chance of falling than being shot.

Nevertheless, he continued on with no regard for the dangers on the surface.

The towering buildings that once held living beings and information beyond one's dreams now rested in shambles upon the almighty world. Most had grown accustomed to such ordeals at the brink of the planet's downfall. Others refused to give up on the structures as if they were sentient beings; the Captain was not one of those people.

Suddenly, he heard whispering, the many voices carried by the wind which seemed to emit from a ruined blockade.

"I can hear you, my friends. Where are you?" The Captain calmly replied with his ears perked up, listening for any movement.

The whispers were drowned out by snake-like hisses and something dragging itself across the rusting platforms. Silos quickly unhinged his sword and twirled it, preparing for the worst.

The rhino Metal Head didn't hesitate any further. He plunged his blade into the cracked ground and watched as the metal began to cave in. He jumped down with a few shards before grappling his claws into the wall to slow his fast form down.

As soon as he reached the bottom, the whispers intensified to what seemed to be growls. The growls appeared to be sounding from a crooked corridor with jagged, loose pipes carrying Energon to the end.

Silos followed the pipes until his eyes rested upon sixteen pods, two of which had already been opened. He smiled inwardly as he gazed towards several frozen eyes that stared back at him curiously.

* * *

Raf monitored the energy signals of his guardian and his group while Soundwave checked on each's progress.

The boy knew their enemies were causing the Transformers to be stressed and impatient as much as the medics; lately, Bumblebee was not himself due to the ever-so-frequent attacks on human bases and the Nemesis and Raf could tell.

Soundwave seemed reluctant to aid the humans at first, but Raf assured him that nothing bad would ever come between their alliance. After a while, the silent, slender mech grew quite fond of Raf though he never showed it.

"Hey Soundwave, what do you like about Earth?" The human asked as Soundwave merely stared at him.

The purple and black bot continued to stand emotionless until his visor lit up with a fast forwarded version of a sunrise and a sunset.

Raf grinned, "Cool, but doesn't your planet have similar solar events?"

Soundwave nodded but used different voices from multiple talk stations, "Yes, but…this world is more beautiful…when the sun hits the waves just right…and I respect that…more…than our world's… destructive…light. For ever dawn…plagues our minds…with death…and war."

"Ah, I see. I'm sorry to hear that," Raf said while his head tilted towards the control panel.

The tall mech slid one finger under his chin and raised his head to meet his reflection. "Don't be…it was our own cruel intensions…that lead an unholy conflict…to ravage our world…and now…we have paid for our mistakes…by losing…our home."

"You don't have to blame yourself; you weren't the one who started it!"

"But I…helped create a monster…in a metal suit. I…helped my…leader…kill off… the innocent citizens of our world…and…I…sold my soul to the Devil!"

Raf put a hand on Soundwave's wing, "But now you have another chance to redeem yourself. I'm willing to help you."

The mech was at a loss for recorded words. He picked the small boy up and placed him next to his neck.

Suddenly, his non-visible eyes widened in shock as he felt Raf hug the side of his face. He couldn't help but make a smiley face appear on his screen.

Raf took the reaction as a sign of gratitude and he swore that he heard the quiet mech purr inside.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Leaders/Dark and Light

* * *

Megatron swiftly dodged an oncoming blast as its weapon of origin locked onto the warlord and repeated its action. He stumbled slightly but continued towards the weapon's owner, who growled angrily.

Tigressa became more and more frustrated as the warmonger came closer to her. Finally, she retracted her gun and prepared to engage her challenger.

Her right foot clawed at the ground viciously, kicking up rubble and dirt in the process. She slammed it back on the hard pavement and let out a warning roar. As she saw her oppressor failing to oblige her command, she charged. Like her previous movement, her claws shot up loose materials on the black ground while they propelled her forward.

Megatron quickly sped up until both individuals rammed head-on into each other. The force of the blow rumbled throughout both as each accelerated to hand to hand combat.

Tigressa caught his own claws between hers and both pushed frantically. Unfortunately for Megatron, the tiger-dragon's sharp talons prevented her from sliding backwards, so whenever she pressed forward, he couldn't hold his ground and slid with the gravel beneath him that began cracking under pressure.

He caught a glimpse of her tail which was swinging side to side madly along with her spiked spine that shook its hooked appendages calmly.

Suddenly, Tigressa pushed him away from her and angled herself to where her right half was facing the beaten leader. She lifted her right leg and let out a low growl.

Before Megatron could react, Tigressa stomped the pavement which broke on impact and fluctuated her tail towards him. He found himself then grinding against the ground at a high speed towards the bottom floor of a skyscraper down the road.

As he felt himself impact the windows of the building, he remembered the others were battling Tigressa's siblings as well as her accursed monster army. Oh how he wanted to verse someone else right about now.

Soon, he groaned and sat up only to find the tiger-dragon hovering above his broken form. He let out a sulked scream as Tigressa pressed her pede against his chest and sank her claws into his insignia. Energon started to slowly seep through the talons, but the tiger-dragon simply smirked at his quivering figure.

"Well I have to admit, I was expecting more of a fight out of you. Then again, war has a reputation to drive your strength dry. I wouldn't be too surprised to see Optimus tiring down on day while he's battling; after all, even metal beings have to grow old or rather rusty someday."

Megatron spit out Energon that had entered his mouth and replied, "If that is the case then tell me, how is it you are older than this floating rock as well as Cybertron and yet you have a young bot's energy and skill? Even you had to have lost some strength over your pathetic excuse of a life!"

Tigressa paused to listen if anybody was close by before answering the warlord's question, "Megatron, I have lots of secrets and a majority of them aren't exactly 'Cybertronian friendly'; one of these secrets actually involves Cybertron and its citizens as well as my unlimited energy."

Megatron raised a brow as she continued, "During the Fallen's reign on Cybertron, I needed certain 'supplies' for myself that I couldn't get anywhere else anymore, hence what his legend mentioned. Let's just say, the Fallen was…most gracious…and allowed my Metal Heads to kill some of these citizens, but what he didn't know was that I had the ability to suck the life-force of an individual out and obtain their knowledge as well as their energy.

"Over time, the more energy I gained, the more my age had no effect on my powers and movements. The souls of these Cybertronians gave me the ability to stay, in a sense, 'young' for a long period of time, but since I was consuming about over a thousand souls a day, it got to the point where I assumed I wouldn't age for the next 300 million years, or at least that's my estimated time."

Megatron stared at her in anger, "You used the Fallen to kill a similar species from your own just so you could be the dominant, practically immortal monster you are now?"

"Yep," she then leaned in close to where her face was level with his, "and I no regrets. With your species out of my way, we'll return as the mightiest creatures this universe has ever seen. Cybertronians were once equal in rank with us, but no longer will you or your pesky kind ever trample on our glorious planets again.

"Besides, Megatron, even if you and your remaining crew survive, it's not like you could ever truly reinstate Cybertron. It's dead and the only chance you have at seeing the birth of a new living generation of Cybertronians is through the blue motorcycle. If anything happens to her, your race will cease to be."

Megatron's eyes widened at the realization, she was right. Arcee was the only bot capable of breeding. He shot the tiger-dragon an if-you-touch-her-you're-dead look.

Tigressa stood straight up and laughed at the sight, "By the way, while you're stuck down there, you might as well close your optics because I don't intend on leaving without your soul to add to my collection!"

The warlord found himself unable to struggle out of the now-Energon-stained talons forcing pressure right above his spark chamber.

He glanced up to see Tigressa unhinge her jaws and reveal three rows of jagged teeth along with a snake-like tongue twisted out of its resting place. She whipped her head down to where her teeth barely graze his cheek but found her head jerking to her left as a massive blast intercepted her strike.

She rose back up and put her hand on the wound until a voice forced her to turn towards its source, "Hey Asshole! Did you miss me?!"

Tigressa gave a low hiss as she recognized the person behind the voice, "Artemis! HAHAHAHAHAHA, I've waited for so long to finish what I had started several years ago!"

Her claws released Megatron, who gave a grunt of pain as the wound bled even more, "My dear, it is nice to finally gaze upon a familiar face worth destroying. Demon told me about how you left him without the ability to fly; the expression on his face as he mentioned what 'the mysterious black suited figure' did to him was all I needed to know to conclude that you had returned."

Artemis unleashed her sword with vengeance growing in her mind. "Yeah, it's nice to see your ugly mug again too. By the way, do you recognize this sword? I'm pretty sure it brings back delightful memories of our first encounter," she replied sarcastically.

Tigressa's smile deepened to a frown. She remembered what the sword was made of: her own tooth. She ran her tongue over the scar of where the tooth broke. Luckily, she had the ability to regrow her natural appendages, but she still had the reminder of it.

Her eyes narrowed at the female human until she could no longer stand the sight of her lost tooth. She sprinted to her top speed, rupturing the remaining entrance to the skyscraper that Megatron had crashed into.

The tiger-dragon blew smoke from her nostrils as she approached Artemis. Artemis, however, jumped right as Tigressa came a good distance away.

The female human swiped at Tigressa with all her might until it made contact with the tiger-dragon's arm. Now a deep cut laid buried into both the armor and protoform of her rival. This earned her a roar from the monster as well as a landing point on Tigressa's hurt arm.

As quick as she landed, she ran up the upper arm and leaped onto Tigressa's shoulder plating. Tigressa threw her uninjured limb to hit Artemis in mid-air; she missed and screeched violently as another slice sounded around her neck. She placed her hand on her neck cables only to find Dark Eco leaking rapidly from the wound.

As Tigressa tried to tend to her new cut, Artemis then hurled herself towards the pavement below only to dodge the tiger-dragon's dented arm come smashing down beside her. The blow caused her to slide slightly, but she recovered and quickly missed the second arm crashing down again.

As she began to lead Tigressa away from Megatron, she immediately leaped off the ground right as both the tiger-dragon's arms and attempted to squash her.

Tigressa's tail suddenly collided with Artemis' air-borne form and coiled itself around the stunned human female.

"Why you little, annoying pest!" Tigressa growled with her voice cracking as more Dark Eco flowed down from her wound to her chest, "You've surprised me, Artemis! I never expected this to happen, nor am I willing to let it happen again!"

Tigressa raised her claws, but then she started to screech again. Her tail unwound itself and released Artemis, only to twisted and bend awkwardly in pain.

The human female peered up to see a blade trapped in her abdomen. She cheered as she noticed the sword belonged to Megatron, who apparently had enough energy to raise it to her waist.

The warlord finally retracted his blade from Tigressa's abdomen and left her clutching her womb area. He offered Artemis a lift as reinforcements soon arrived.

Tigressa cursed under her breath as she saw the tip of Optimus' own sword next to her face.

All around her, Autobots and Decepticons stood with their guns raised. She glanced to the right to see in between two bots the remains of many Metal Heads and Decepticon troops. In the corner of her eye, she noticed her fellow Captain Silos hiding and observing her defeat. She lowered her head and gave him a cold grin.

Suddenly, Tigressa transformed into her jet form and flew past the Cybertronians. She felt her captain grab her wing and lift himself to sit right behind her cockpit. She activated a special teleportation device on her console and vanished into an almost invisible portal that flexed the background behind it in waves.

As soon as the portal was no longer disrupting the area in which it was located, Artemis sighed as Megatron rubbed a finger on her back. She put her head into her legs while the warlord let Ratchet and Knockout check his injury.

Arcee, for once, looked concerned for the warmonger. She couldn't help but blush when he smiled down on her after noticing her studying him.

Artemis eventually was able to walk on the ground again after pleading with Megatron to let her go. What she didn't expect when she got down was a surprise hug from Dexter, who seemed thankful that she was alive after facing the terrible monster that had damaged both the lives of herself and her Cybertronian friends.


End file.
